Building a life is a gated construction sequence, not a lucky break.

Foundation before walls, walls before roof — and every level ends in a gate: a measurable sign-off condition you must meet before proceeding. Two tracks run in parallel: the allocation track (what you do with money) and the income engine (how you grow it). Tick, note, and track everything below — it all autosaves.

Entry ramp — new graduate

Start at Level 00 and take the levels in sequence. Your advantage is time: decades of compounding ahead. Your risk is lifestyle creep arriving before the foundation is cast.

Entry ramp — at an intersection

Career change, retrenchment, divorce, relocation: don't assume you've passed earlier levels. Re-run each gate honestly with today's numbers. Existing assets speed you up; existing debt and obligations re-open lower levels.

Build progress0 / 36 actions

0%Gates passed: 0 / 9

Site rules — read before proceeding

01Pay yourself first — automate the transfer before spending can happen.

02Insure before you invest — buffer and cover come before growth assets.

03Order debt by interest rate — store cards are fires; study loans are slow-burn. Fight fires first.

04Time in the market — beats timing the market, almost every time.

05Every rand has one job — know which account each transfer serves.

06If it guarantees high monthly returns, it's a scam — no legitimate investment promises 5%+ a month. Verify FSCA registration before a cent moves.

07Bank your raises — capture at least half of every increase before lifestyle absorbs it.

08Family support is a budget line — plan it deliberately with a stated cap, not reactively from guilt.

Asset & income schedule — targets vs actuals

The streams you're building, now with rand targets. Enter a target and your current amount — the progress bar and totals compute themselves. Untick "active" for streams you're deliberately deferring.

Stream	Why it matters	Target (R)	Current (R)	Progress
	3–6 months of expenses, liquid and boring on purpose.			—
	Tax-deferred decades layer — match claimed in full, savings pot sealed.			—
	R46k/yr, R500k lifetime — tax-free growth forever, never withdraw.			—
	Growth outside the wrappers, for pre-retirement goals.			—
	The ring-fenced sprint account — only if the rent-vs-buy gate says buy.			—
	Second inflow — resilience if the salary ever stops.			—
	Currency diversification once the local base is solid.			—
	Forced savings + long-run appreciation, post-purchase.			—
Total (active streams)		R 0	R 0	—

Net worth log — quarterly readings

The instrument for the quarterly-review site rule. Log a date, total assets, and total liabilities — net worth and the movement against the previous reading compute automatically. The trend matters more than any single reading.

Date	Total assets (R)	Total liabilities (R)	Net worth	Δ vs previous

General educational framework — not personalised financial, tax, or legal advice. Figures reflect 2026/27 SARS & industry rates and shift with each Budget Speech. Confirm specifics with an FSCA-registered adviser.